The Jimnay Port is located in Jimnay County, Altay Prefecture, 24 kilometers from the county seat of Jimnay, 198 kilometers from Altay City and 650 kilometers from Urumqi. Its opposite port is Kazakhstan's Maykapchagay Port in Shyghys Qazaqstan Oblast, just 500 meters from the Chinese port and 60 kilometers from Zaisan City in Kazakhstan.
The Jimnay Port is historically an important way station for traders traveling between Xinjiang and Central Asia. In 1992, the Chinese and Kazakhstan governments agreed to open the port temporarily to bilateral cargo trade. In March 1994, the State Council ratified its permanent operation as an international port. The port can accommodate transit of 100,000 tons of cargo and 50,000 person-times.
The Jimnay Port is newly opened for full operations, with a 1,053-square-meter comprehensive inspection hall, centralized offices occupying 2,375 square meters and a 1,226-square-meter parking area. Telecommunications and other utilities systems are also completed.
With the improvement of infrastructure, the border trade between the two countries is developing quickly, with a number of commercial and border trading companies settling in at the port. For example, the No. 186 Border Trade Company of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps holds 12,000 square meters of goods yards, 3,000 square meters of warehousing and 200 square meters of office space. In 2002, 5,000 passengers, 1,219 vehicle and 16,000 tons of cargo transited the port.
(China.org.cn December 15, 2004)
